The Talk
by Blondes N November
Summary: Carl has a crush and Daryl finds out about it.


The Talk

Author's note: This story takes place in the middle of season 3. This is our first fanfic please R&R.

Daryl walked into the cellblock coming back from his shift of keeping watch over the prison with sweat pouring down his face. He started walking to the perch he claimed as his own but stopped when he heard someone moving towards the cell block. Carl and Beth walked into the cellblock talking and laughing freely. Daryl stopped and leaned against the wall listening to them talk about the baby and he snorted when they called her "lil ass kicker", the nickname he gave her.

"….Well I'm going to go check if Maggie needs help, but I'll see you later ok?" Beth said.

"Ok see ya later." Carl replied.

Beth turned on her heels and walked out and Carl turned to watch her leave looking like he wanted her to stay.

Daryl noticed this and a smirk broke out on his face. Daryl whistled at Carl and gave a short nod calling Carl over.

"Ya know, ya couldn't be more obvious," Daryl said smirk still on his face.

"Wha…what are you t-talking about." Carl stammered.

"Come on kid you know what I'm talkin' about. I saw you over there looking at farmer's daughter. So what's with that?" he questioned moving a hand between Carl and the door Beth left from.

"Nothing, it was nothing. We're just friends. That wasn't anything," Carl stammered again getting nervous, a light blush on his face.

"Oh yeah? Well you know me and your dad are friends but you don' see me looking at him like that, do ya?" Daryl asked looking very amused when Carl blushed deeper. "You know what, don' answer that," Daryl added with a laugh.

"We…I wasn't," Carl tried but couldn't answer.

"Right sure you weren't. But really, there anything you wanna talk about?" Daryl asked looking a little more serious.

"No, nothing," Carl replied quickly.

"Uh huh, ok then. Well if you ever wanna talk about 'nothin' you know where to find me, ok?" Daryl asked.

"I will, thanks Daryl."

"No problem kid," Daryl said as he pushed off the wall and gave Carl a hard pat on the back.

At that moment Beth walked in and smiled when she saw Carl. "Hey, want to help me feed Judith?" she asked innocently.

"Yea sounds like fun," Carl said nodding to Daryl and walking over to join Beth. They turned to leave but stopped when they heard Daryl call after them.

"Hey Carl…." They turned to see Daryl with a smirk on his face. "…Ya'll don' have too much fun alright."

Carl's blush immediately returned and he all but dragged a confused Beth out of the room, Daryl's laugh echoing behind them.

Xxxxxx

Not two hours later Carl wondered outside, walking straight to Daryl who was over by a fence away from anyone else that was outside.

Daryl watched Carl walk over, looking amused.

"Hey," Carl greeted and Daryl nodded back at him.

"So how was your date?" Daryl asked looking pleased with himself.

"Shut up," Carl muttered and started walking back towards the prison with a blush on his face.

"Hey slow down I was kidding. Come back," Carl walked over and leaned against the fence, "OK really, there somethin' you wanna talk about?"

"What did you mean when you said I was too obvious? Can everybody tell?" Carl asked shifting nervously not wanting to look at Daryl.

"Not unless they're payin attention, but I saw it easily enough. You were walking close to her and laughin' at everything she said. You were looking at her the whole time ya'll were talking then turned to watch her leave." Daryl said all this as if he were talking about the weather. Then he added as an afterthought, "Actually it's not the first time I've seen you do that."

"So, what do I do?" Carl asked quietly. "I mean, what should I do, I mean do you think…?" Carl kept his eyes down, clearly uncomfortable, but also somehow knowing that Daryl might be able to help him a little. He knew that he certainly couldn't go to his father right now for anything, with his current state of what seemed to Carl to be nothing less than insanity.

"Alright just slow down kid, relax. So, you really like her huh?"

"Kind of, yeah. I guess," Carl answered.

"Ain't she a little old for you?"

"She's only a few years older than me, it's not that big a deal," Carl protested.

"Ok kid, it was just a question, settle down. Here's whatcha gotta do. You gotta do nice stuff for her, chicks like that mushy stuff. You know like open doors, keep helping her with the baby, and maybe share your food with her," Daryl said as he pulled out a cancer stick and turned to face Carl, "It's not like it used to be kid. Everything's changed." Daryl lit his cigarette and continued, "You can't take her out on a date or go for a walk without getting eaten. You have to be creative with how you show you like her. Just be nice, show that you're interested, and watch for hints that she likes you back. Just trust your gut and don't make it a big deal, just let it happen, you follow me?"

"Ok that makes sense. If I do all that, do you think I have a chance?"

"Of course you do, no worries," Daryl said as he tossed his cigarette over the fence and gave Carl a reassuring pat on the back.

"Ok I'll try it out, thanks for the talk Daryl," Carl said as he pushed himself off the fence, said bye to Daryl, and started walking back up to the prison, a smile on his face. He stopped just a few meters short of the prison door when Daryl called his name.

"Hey Carl…" Daryl called, "…If you do all that, and she even kind of likes you, you'll have her in a week," Daryl said with a smirk and a wink.

Carl ran through the prison door, his face bright red, trying to leave Daryl's laughing behind him.


End file.
